Oklahoma State Baseball Preview: Cowboys Open Big 12 Tourney vs. UCF

The Oklahoma State baseball team drew the UCF Knights in a rematch of a series played earlier this season.

Oklahoma State Cowboys catcher Campbell Smithwick. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Oklahoma State Cowboys have been in Arizona since Monday preparing for their Big 12 Tournament opener against the UCF Knights on Thursday.

The Cowboys (36-19) and the Knights (31-20) will be the first game of the quarterfinal round, set for 11 a.m. central and to be broadcast on ESPNU. The winner will advance to face the winner of Game 6, which features the No. 1 seeded Kansas Jayhawks.

The Cowboys played their way into the No. 5 seed in the final weeks of the Big 12 season, which kept them out of the first two rounds of the tournament.

On Tuesday, the Cowboys learned a half dozen of their players earned all-Big 12 recognition, including first team outfielders Kollin Ritchie and Alex Conover.

Oklahoma State is projected as a No. 2 seed in an NCAA Tournament regional. There's an outside chance that with a run in this tournament they could play their way into a home regional in Stillwater.

Here is a preview of Thursday’s action, with the schedule, TV information and more.

2026 Big 12 Baseball Tournament Schedule

Oklahoma State baseball coach Josh Holliday. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

At Surprise Stadium, Surprise, Ariz.

All times central; single elimination

Tuesday's Results

Game 1 – No. 9 BYU 18, No. 12 Texas Tech 8

Game 2 – No. 11 Kansas State 9, No. 10 Utah 5

Wednesday's Games

Game 3 – No. 9 BYU vs. No. 8 Baylor – 6:30 p.m. – ESPN+

Game 4 – No. 11 Kansas State vs. No. 7 TCU – 10 p.m. – ESPN+

Thursday, May 21

Game 5 – No. 5 Oklahoma State vs. No. 4 UCF – 11 a.m. – ESPNU

Game 6 – No. 1 Kansas vs. Game 3 winner – 2:30 p.m. – ESPNU

Game 7 – No. 2 West Virginia vs. Game 4 Winner – 6:30 p.m. – ESPNU

Game 8 – No. 3 Arizona State vs. No. 6 Cincinnati – 10 p.m. – ESPNU

Friday, May 22

Game 9 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner – 6:30 p.m. – ESPN+

Game 10 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner – 10 p.m. – ESPN+

Saturday, May 23

Game 11 – Championship Game – 6:30 p.m. – ESPN2

Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (93.7 KSPI-FM) and The Varsity Network App (okla.state/GetVarsity)

Previewing Oklahoma State

The Cowboys have hit the second most home runs (137) in the country behind only Georgia, and if they have a pathway to winning the Big 12 Tournament then they need to turn it into a slugfest.

Ritchie and Colin Brueggemann both reached the 50-home run club in program history earlier this season. Ritchie is closing in on hitting 30 home runs in a season, a rare accomplishment at the collegiate level. He and Conover were two of the best hitters in the conference down the stretch.

If the Cowboys stick to form, they’ll start Ethan Lund in Thursday’s game. He was named all-Big 12 second team and is 5-1 this season. Oklahoma State can get a little revenge in this one as UCF swept them early in the Big 12 slate.

Previewing UCF

The Knights became the No. 4 seed due to consistency. They won seven of their 10 Big 12 series in 2026. UCF won four of its final six regular season games, too. Like the Cowboys, the Knights are coming in hot.

Even with the success, there were no Knights selected to the All-Big 12 first team. Outfielders John Smith III and Andrew Williamson, along with pitcher Camden Wicker, were named to the second team.

UCF catcher Zak Skinner is the Knights’ top hitter by average at .366. Javier Crespo is batting .333, with Smith right behind him at .332. They’ll be prominent in the lineup on Thursday. Wicker enters the tournament with a 5-3 record and a 3.71 ERA and leads the team in strikeouts with 56. He could be the starting pitcher in the quarterfinal.